Fish Tales (Kaidan)

[Zarius Shine]

Fall 21, 512 Zip lounged on his bed, trying to relax. He wasn’t exactly nervous, just…excited - with anticipation. Realizing that he had re-read the same paragraph three times, he sighed and let his chin drop to rest on his folded forearms. The pages of the book lay flat. It was so old that the spring in its pages had long ago been robbed by the eager fingers of those seekers of knowledge that sought to delve in its depths. But such philosophical ruminations were as far from his mind as were the book’s contents. In his mind’s eye, a variety of images tumbled by, and most consisted of the encounter of the day before, with the guy whose arrival he now awaited. He had been trying all day, and some part of the evening before, not to read too much into their random meeting. But he was suffering from that first onslaught of hopeful expectations that accompanies running into someone who really piques your interest. Zip was a very sociable kind of person. Though he loved books, when he wasn’t distracted by thoughts of good looking men, he had a fair few number of friends. And he typically met new people with some frequency, and was not too shy to strike up a conversation. But yesterday had been…different, in a good way. In a way that made him feel a bit high. Still, he knew he had to school himself to just take it easy and not make any assumptions or have any expectations, at all. Kaidan would show up and they would head to the docks and have something to eat, and…yeah. Just hanging out with a friendly person would be a good balm for his recently tortured soul. In the last twenty four hours, Zip had thought about Simon too. But he’d been much more able to feel like that was something in the past now. He was indeed sick and tired of Simon still having the ability to make him feel miserable even when he hadn’t seen him in weeks. How did someone get so firmly entrenched in your heart? And when that same someone then shattered your heart into a million fragments, how was it that they still managed to remain there? Why didn’t they shatter too? Or fall out? Or just leak away, into obscurity? Simon had held as prominent a place in his psyche as he ever had when things were good – a different place, but just as securely part of Zip as ever he was. But since Zip had parted ways with Kaidan the day before, well…he finally felt…better. Stretching to reach for his notebook on the floor beside him, Zip pulled down the pencil he had stuck behind his ear, and began to draw a little figure in the margin of his notes, trying to lose himself, and his antsyness, in this tiny act of creation.

[Kaidan Arianos]

Lets see... Mallory hall, first floor, third door.... on the left, thought Kaidan as he made his way into the Mallory building, looking around to find the third door on the left. And... there it was! Kaidan was adorned in his worn wine red velvet jacket, with a white collared shirt underneath, and black pants on as well as black shoes. He thought he looked decent in it, and was more than prepared to take Zip out to dinner that evening. Hopefully he wasn't too late, he had wanted to get washed off, and prepared as well as he could for this, and didn't know how Zip might react to whatever would happen that evening. But he had a good feeling about it, and couldn't wait to get the show on the road. He definitely enjoyed fish, and going to a fish market would be good enough for him, so that they could enjoy a decent meal. As he arrived at the door, he slowly knocked upon it, hoping that Zip would answer, and be ready to go as well. He had thought about their previous meeting all evening long, and couldn't help but wonder what would become of them. Would they remain friends for long? Would their relationship as new friends increase beyond what it happened to be right now? Who knew?! Certainly not Kaidan as he looked towards the door in silent anticipation for Zip's arrival and opening of it...

[Zarius Shine]

The knock on his door made Zip’s hand jump on the page, not that he hadn’t been expecting it. Without thinking, he almost jumped up from the bed, before he had the presence of mind to tell himself to slow down. It wouldn’t do to yank the door open and scare Kaidan out of his wits. So he halted and took a deep breath, straightened his shirt and then stepped more sedately over and put his hand on the knob. He was decked out in his usual attire, a simple white shirt and dark trousers, and boots that weren’t new but which he kept clean at least. With another calming breath, he turned the knob and pulled the door open with normal speed and force. It was funny – he knew what Kaidan looked like, but seeing him standing there, an expectant air about him, for some reason made Zip feel like he was seeing him for the first time. His gaze took Kaidan in and he was already grinning like a madman, despite his attempts to keep the brakes on the sense of anticipation he felt fluttering about in his stomach. Zip had stepped back and held the door still. “Hey! How’s it going? Want to come in for a minute? Or shall we just get started?” He was a bit hungry, but he wouldn't be bothered a bit if this dinner thing ended up taking all night.

[Kaidan Arianos]

As Zip opened the door up, Kaidan beamed at him. His smile showed that he was quite happy to be here in this spot, and then Zip invited him in. Nodding his head, he said, "I'm doing very well, thank you! I supposed I could come in for a bit before we head out to the fish place you were speaking of." Grinning, he couldn't help but admire Zip's attired with his soft brown eyes, as he looked towards him, and then allowed his eyes to drift up and meet with Zip's own blue-violet eyes once more. "How have you been? Did you have classes today? How were they if you did?" he asked, honestly wondering how he was doing, and how his classes were going. He hoped that he didn't distract him too much from his classwork, as he had already made him miss one lecture on something about trade, and he didn't want to disrupt his schoolwork that much by just being there. Thinking slightly as he stepped inside the dormitory room, he looked around taking in everything that he could, observing what the room looked like, it's similarities with his own dorm room, and whether or not Zip's roommate that he mentioned happened to be present. If the roommate was present, Kaidan would introduce himself to be polite, and then look back towards Zip. If he wasn't there, then obviously there was no need for introductions between the two of them, and he could just speak with Zip for as long as the young man wanted...

[Zarius Shine]

Zip stepped back happily, ushering Kaidan into his room. His roommate was gone, and so there was both time and opportunity for shooting the bull before they headed off to the fish market. He was so glad to see that Kaidan looked pretty upbeat – happy to be here, just as Zip was happy to see him. As Kaidan stepped into the room, their eyes met for a brief moment, and held, and Zip could only think how long it had been since he had done that – to feel some connection to another person like this – and feel good about it, and not sick with anxiety. “My day’s been brilliant,” he replied, smiling. “A lecture on the council that leads Riverfall. Those Akalaks live forever.” He laughed. “Good thing too, I suppose, seeing as, well…you know. That whole reproduction thing.” This topic hit a bit close to home, for Zip had always wondered what it was about the Symenestra and the Akalaks that had forever altered their ability to procreate in a reliable and safe way. He wondered, too, what it would be like to live in a city full of males and proportionately few females, and males who had lived for hundreds of years. Their children were treated with the greatest of regard, though certainly not pampered. “It was reasonably interesting,” he said with a smirk. “Then I worked on some writing, and did some studying. So, pretty laid back.” He gestured and looked a bit apologetic. “We only have the two chairs and the beds. Take your pick.” As he waited for Kaidan to choose the hard wooden chair pulled up to his battered desk, or the almost as hard, and lumpy, bed, he asked, “How about you? Had a good day?” He paused, then added with a wink, “Bumped into anyone interesting today?”

[Kaidan Arianos]

"Sad to say the only person i've bumped into recently was some big burly guy that ran me over... luckily there was someone much more handsome to rescue me from my trauma," he said, providing a wink back at Zip. Taking a seat down on the bed, he looked towards him with soft brown eyes, and then said, "So, Akalaks... they have long lives do they? I don't know much about them, other than they are huge blue guys... Part of the reason i'd like to visit Riverfall, other than the botanical scenes, is to actually see an Akalak. They're not too common in Zeltiva, and i've only ever heard of them, rather than seen them..." As he spoke, he watched Zip's motions, and body as he would take a seat, hopefully across from him, so that they could speak much easier. "But i've heard some good things about Riverfall, how it's beautiful, it has three tiers in the city, and has a beautiful view of the sea... That's not the only place i'd like to visit though. I've heard that the Konti's home island has a great deal of botanical scenery as well... it would be interesting to go there for a study at some point too..." he said. Then he added as an afterthought, "I'm not sure how they would react to a human traveling there though... I don't know much about them either... Guess one could say I lived a sheltered life in Zeltiva under my parent's roof. At least now that i'm at the university I can expand my horizons somewhat..." There was a double meaning to that though, he meant knowledge wise and possibly relationships as well, but he didn't vocalize that meaning, and left it up to Zip's interpretation, whatever he'd interpret it as that is...

[Zarius Shine]

Kaidan’s reply made Zip laugh, in a really good way. Of course, he was getting a nice compliment so why wouldn’t he feel good? His ego had suffered some serious blows this summer past, so it could sure use a little TLC, though he normaly wasn’t the type of person who actively sought reassurances. Still, he would take them when he got them, and be damned appreciative when he did. Maybe they were on the same wavelength, for Zip did in fact take the chair, pulling it out from the desk and straddling it backwards, so he could face Kaidan. He rested his crossed forearms along its back, and leaned a bit forward, listening to Kaidan’s voice and paying attention to what he was saying, while at the same time watching him. His lovely dark eyes, the way he looked when he spoke, the easy, relaxed posture of his body – which seemed a good bit more toned than Zip’s. He made a mental note that maybe he needed to do a bit more, physically that was, although they would be starting up the martial arts thing soon. Maybe that would help. He could maybe ask Kaidan to practice with him, on the days they weren’t actually training with someone else. “Yeah, the Akalaks live for centuries. Just think - all that time and so few females to provide then with a little R&R.” He grinned and shrugged. “Maybe a lot of them just end up with each other, you know. Guy to guy.” It didn’t seem a strange concept to Zip, though it was probably true that such relationships weren’t really the norm in Zeltiva. Still, it didn’t seem to be anything anyone really cared about. There were certainly enough people in this town, and frequent food shortages and rationing. So who was to look askance at two people who chose not to go that route, marriage and children? “But the professor hinted that they do go to some kind of extreme measures to obtain females, to try to have children with. But I guess they don’t get the same bad rep the Symenestra do, even though the mortality rate of the ones they get pregnant is real high – like, eighty to ninety percent. The only ones who can do it without risk are the Konti.” He paused, telling himself to step down off his soapbox and just leave the whole Sym issue alone. Kaidan probably didn’t come here for a philosophy and ethics lecture. So he instead considered what Kaidan had said, and went on. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about Mura. But you’re right. It probably would have all sorts of fascinating topics for research. But I’ve heard they sometimes try to recruit male visitors as fathers for their daughters.” He laughed. “They’d be disappointed with me, if that’s the case.” Looking at Kaidan thoughtfully, he said, “It would be fun, don’t you think? Traveling about, with a buddy? Hey, I’ve never been any place outside the city either. So don't feel bad. My wayfaring explorer's cherry is still very much intact.” He was grinning again, thinking about something he wouldn't share with Kaidan, not now anyway. Struck by a thought, he unfolded his arms rapidly, and grabbed the tops of the two spindles that formed the outer frame of the back of the chair, his face beaming with excitement. “We should make a list! All the places we want to go, and why – what we want to do when we get there. A grand tour, to last a decade.” He bent and reached over to grab the notebook which still lay near the pillow. Withdrawing the pencil from its pages, he asked, “Where would you go first?”

[Kaidan Arianos]

"Suffice to say, in Mura, if you're right, which you probably are about the Konti," he said with a small laugh. "They'll be hard pressed for me as well, I think i'd let them down." Smiling, when Zip began to ask about places he'd like to visit, and making a list of them, Kaidan grinned, and then said, "Actually, i've been thinking about that place you were talking about yesterday? Kalinor? And I would bet that they have some amazing fungus or certain plants that grow within the darkness, and have no use for sunlight to allow them to grow. Possibly even some plants that glow in the dark..." He had thought about it the night prior after having talked about it with Zip, and now, he decided that that would be the first place he'd like to visit. Whether it was because of his attraction to Zip, or because of the real possibility of a botanical wonder, he did not know. But something told him that Kalinor would be an amazing place to visit... so long as he wasn't alone in visiting it. "I'd certainly like to go... but I wouldn't want to go alone. I'd rather have someone with me..." he said, almost hinting that he'd prefer it if Zip would go with him sometime, but not saying it directly. "Perhaps after I finish a few terms here at the university, it might be something we could do... Prepare for a few seasons, and then set out to go see the world of Mizahar. I could collect plant samples... study them, learn more about them, and you could learn about the people's culture that we meet. You've definitely sparked my interest in journeying outside of Zeltiva someday... If you really were willing to go with me, i'd be glad to have you along, always two better than one when traveling outside the safety of the walls of this city..." Many other thoughts occurred to him, but he really had an urge to actually prepare and journey with Zip to see the world around them, and not be stuck in the box that was Zeltiva, granted it was safe for the most part... there was so much of the world to see outside of those walls, so much to study, to learn, and Kaidan really had a serious interest in doing it now. Whether he was just dreaming wildly, childish dreams, or anything, he wanted to try and work it out to make it a reality. If he could make it a reality, then he'd gain far more knowledge, he was sure, than by just sitting around in Zeltiva the rest of his life only studying the Flora that grew around there. And if he could make it worthwhile to Zip to join him, then well... maybe he just might have a traveling companion! One that would look after him, while he would look after his companion. Two was always better than one when it came to traversing the world of Mizahar...

[Zarius Shine]

Kaidan’s reply, in regards to the little quip Zip had made about Mura, made the blonde haired student smirk, though inwardly, he tucked it away as another point to ponder when next he lost himself in thinking about the other student. It was never a good idea to jump to conclusions about anyone. And though Kaidan’s remarks about Zip's eyes, and his looks, certainly pointed in a certain direction - that of Kaidan being at least comfortable with giving another guy compliments – they still might have been only that. Not every guy was inclined to liking other men, not in a ‘beyond friends’ kind of way. Zip had known since he was old enough to start liking girls that he didn’t – he liked other boys. That never bothered him and he hadn’t questioned it. It just was who he was. But over the past, oh, ten years or so, he had certainly learned that he was a minority, at least on the surface of things. He had also discovered there were men, and women, who didn’t broadcast their preferences publically, either through some fear of censure, or because they themselves were muddled about their feelings, or troubled by them, or…any number of reasons really. So, that being the case, he tried not to assume that just because this happened or that was said or a person did X, Y or Z, that was a ‘sure sign’ of anything. He wouldn’t know really how Kaidan felt about such things until, well…until they went a bit further. And to some degree, it didn’t even matter. If they ended up friends, and nothing more, that would be totally fine. Well…Zip would have had to admit, if he was being one hundred percent truthful, that he would be pretty thrilled by things going beyond just being mates. Besides being really good looking (which was the shallow part Zip realized), Kaidan seemed exceptionally nice, and they were getting along together so well, so far. But only time would tell if things went in that direction so he could be patient and he wouldn’t be disappointed if they just wound up as friends. Well, a little bit, but he could live with it. Kaidan had moved right on and was talking about Kalinor and Zip smiled. His plan to go there himself one day had been in his head and his heart for so long, it seemed like it just had to happen. Getting there with a friend, with Kaidan, would make it that much more of a fantastical trip, and experience. And he was appreciative of the fact that Kaidan didn’t seem inclined to look upon the whole race and their city as a place of horror. “I think that would be incredible,” he agreed fervently, nodding. “I don’t remember my grandmother ever talking about the plants, or the , er, fungus?” All Zip could think about were mushrooms and he wasn’t sure that’s what Kaidan meant. “But I could ask my mom – she might have heard her mom talk about things like that.” He paused long enough to make a first entry in the notebook. Then looked up again. “You know, sometimes the university sponsors research trips. I’ve been talking to Professor Sprague about it. He’s actually an archeologist. Sometimes they’ll take students along, if they’ve done a really outstanding job with their studies, you know. Something kind of impressive.” His expression became a bit pensive. “If we worked our asses off and could get someone’s attention, maybe we could be taken on, as student assistants, on a trip like that. Otherwise, I don’t know how we’d be able to save enough money. I mean, I work but only part-time. And having to pay uni fees, well, you know how that goes.” He made another note on the page. “Maybe I’ll tackle Sprague again, tomorrow. See what more he can tell me. He said that he heard such an expedition was maybe going to be heading out soonish – like next Spring? Well, I’ll ask him – see if I can pry some more information out of him.” Just at the moment, Zip’s stomach emitted a loud, prolonged rumble. He laughed. “Maybe I’m hungrier than I thought. C’mon – let’s go find some dinner.” He lay the notebook aside and rose from the chair. In a cheeky tone, he said, “If you want, I can hold your hand and try to keep you from falling off any of the piers into the water.”

[Kaidan Arianos]

"I didn't know the University sponsored research trips!" exclaimed Kaidan, suddenly very excited by the prospect. "If they do, i'm sure they will have plenty of people around to protect the research teams and stuff, so even though we'll be joining the Martial Arts Association classes and stuff, then there might not be that much we need to learn before going on one of their research trips..." As he spoke, he spoke thoughtfully, thinking about what it would be like to leave Zeltiva on one of these research trips, and hopefully research some exotic flora, or things of the sort. "I'm sure if we do good in our classes, they'd certainly allow us to join them. I might have to question my professor himself to see what he thinks about going on a research trip or something. He seems awefully wrapped up in Zeltiva's flora though, as compared to other places flora... But he might know something about it as well!" Excited, and a bit giddy, he heard Zip's stomach growl, and nodded when he said that it was probably time to get something to eat. Then he offered to hold Kaidan's hand, so that Kaidan wouldn't fall off of the docks. This caused Kaidan to blush a little bit, but almost all of him was saying, "GO! DO IT!" So, when the offer was laid out to him, he grinned as he blushed, and then said, "If my rescuer wants to become my protector from the harms of the world outside... such as things my clumsiness might get me in trouble with, I don't see why not!" Holding out his hand for Zip to take, he grinned, and stood up from the bed, hoping that Zip would take his hand, lead him from the dormatory rooms, and off towards the docks, where they would hopefully get a good meal together. Kaidan certainly had enough mizas on him in his money pouch, for at least a good meal between the two of them, and he was more than willing to provide a meal for Zip if the man could keep him from falling face first into the waters below the docks. Who knew what types of creatures would swallow him whole that lived under the docks of Zeltiva...